How do you find a person using not much info?

[Joolee1980]

Potentially creepy sounding question, plus I couldn't think where else to post it. Anyway, if you have a person's 1st name only, you know the districts they work and live in, you have an idea of a few of their interests, also their attitudes based on website posts / comment form posts you're sure are from them - is that enough to find them? (I do have a reason for asking this and it isn't to stalk someone, honest, despite how it sounds!)

[Count-A-Strong]

Are you talking about someone on here?

[Joolee1980]

No, not as far as I'm aware. The person has used a username in emails to me which also features in the comment lists of one or two newspaper websites, but I've never seen it on AB

[bednobs]

it could be easy or had. For example, if one of their interests was an unusual one, then it may be relatively simple to find them (ie if they like archery and there is only one archery club in a 50 mile radius it might be more simple than if they like drinking and there are 100 pubs in the area) People are going to be VERY suspicious about you asking question though (even i am very suspicious now :)) and will most likely not give you info. It depends on how much time effort and legwork you are willing to put into finding them i suppose

[Joolee1980]

well I even FEEL suspicious asking this question here. I don't think they have an unusual hobby, the only one I know of is cycling, well anyway they posted a quite techical thing about buying bike mechanisms

but it goes to show that we are very willing to present to the world details and clues about our lives - look at the stuff people put on Facebook, even pics of their own kids, and now we can track someone's movements minute by minute at their own instigation on Twitter.

[squarebear]

I think you would find it almost impossible to find someone from their first name and roughly where they live.

"I am looking for Wayne who lives in Yorkshire and likes cars".

Good luck!

[Joolee1980]

THAT'S the guy - you're looking for him too eh?!

Actually, mine's a gal, not a guy.

But I wouldn't be starting with just those snippets - I have home and work areas, nearest tube to each, an idea of her attitudes and leanings, a few other nuggets. I bet there are people who could start from the same stuff and track the person down.

[wolf63]

Try sticking some of the details into Google. You might be overwhelmed by the amount of results that you have to sort through.

If this person finds out about your detective work they might not be very happy about it.

A name of an employer would help you narrow it down a bit.

[Joolee1980]

I realise they wouldn't be pleased, I'm very conscious of that and am being very careful about how I use any insights I gain. Yeah employers name would help, I hoped that having established she works very close to a specific tube station I might somehow achieve the next step of deducing what company she worked for.

[Wak]

Local Libraries now (I think!) have computer access to the Electoral Roll Register and I used it (with the help of the librarian) to find a friend whose surname I had forgotten just by knowing his Christian name and the Avenue he lived on.
Hope this helps.

[Jemisa]

You say you recieve emails from them? well why not hit 'reply' and ask them outright.why are you doing this sneakely?
They'll either tell you or they won't If not, Drop it.
jem.

[bigfoot3000]

I thought hit men/women were more careful then this?

[boxtops]

This sounds like a wind-up - and you say it's not, but I would worry about stalking or harassment or invasion of personal privacy, unless you have good reason to want to find this person.

[redcrx]

"I realise they wouldn't be pleased," so it is stalking then really, isnt it?

[jno]

I think stalking is when you already know who someone is. At this stage it's just Investigation. Maybe there are business directories in your library that will tell you the names of companies near tubes? (Though if it's central London you'll get hundreds of names.)

[bazwillrun]

Pinkertons !

[Joolee1980]

It's not a wind-up, and redcrx it's a bit judgemental to take one line from that post and use to it conclude that I am therefore a stalker. Stalking is an interesting if unsettling subject and there are all sorts of things going on in situations involving that kind of obsession. I'm doing this as a bit of research into the way we leave clues about ourselves scattered around the internet. I have no intention of contacting this person or harassing them in any way at all. But I realise how human nature works and that some people will assume the worst, whatever I say.

Thanks jno, yes I have looked into what businesses are near this particular tube though I'm not sure it told me much.